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| Guest Blog - Wade Leslie Robotics Engineer Robotize.com.au |
One of the ideas presented by Covey
that has eluded my full understanding until recently is actually a quote by
Oliver Wendell Holmes.
It goes like this:
I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.
I didn't quite get the idea of the far
side of complexity until I paired this concept with another idea referenced in another business book, “Good to Great”.
In this book, (in my case audio-book) Jim Collins talks about the parable
of the Fox and the Hedgehog and brings to life the idea of a Hedgehog concept.
In its essence a Hedgehog concept is taking an understanding of the world
around you in all its complexity; your strengths, weaknesses and what you
enjoy, and breaking it down to a simple idea about what it is your business
should do and the economic driver of this business. The Hedgehog concept is the junction
between:
- What you love
- What you can be the best in the world at
- What will generate good revenue (See Good to Great, p. 118)
When you get it right it is simple.
But it is the simplicity on the far side of complexity; it’s not simplicity
ignoring the complexity.
The same can be said of a good mission
statement, or perhaps even a good blog post. A good mission statement is short and punchy,
yet encompasses the entire propose and values of a business,
organisation or individual. It is simple but not simplistic.
Can your work be deciphered in all its
complexity and narrowed down to one simple concept or mission? To borrow another “Covey-ism”, of all the
things you are doing or trying to achieve in your life or work, which one is
“Widely Important” and an absolute non-negotiable?
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Guest Blog by Wade Leslie
Robotics Engineer
Thanks Wade, good way to get us thinking! Finding simplicity within complexity is always a challenge!
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